Samsung implemented a new vividness tool to let users choose how saturated their screens get. Here’s how to use it on your S24.
Key Takeaways
- Samsung's new S24 Vividness Tool adds a new dynamic to color settings, allowing users to adjust saturation levels.
- Access the Vividness Tool in Display Settings to adjust saturation levels between natural and vivid mode, enhancing the visual experience.
- The highest setting on the Vividness Tool may be too punchy for some, preferring realistic colors rather than oversaturation.
When Samsung released the Galaxy S24 lineup, it felt like more of the same from Samsung. However, a common complaint amongst new S24 owners started to appear. On prior Samsung models, users had two options when it came to how the display shows color. The first, natural mode, focused on color accuracy above all else. The other, vivid mode, punched up the saturation noticeably, which made every color pop.
On the new Galaxy S24 lineup, Samsung dialed back vivid mode substantially and made it almost indiscernible from natural mode. This sparked debate among S24 owners. Some of them enjoyed the more natural look, while others proclaimed the color options to be washed out. Recently, Samsung issued the S24's first software update that fixed the issue by adding a new vividness tool that delivers the best of both worlds. Here's how it works and my personal experience with it.
What is the Galaxy S24 vividness tool?
There's a feature in the S24's latest update you should know about
Samsung released an update in February to include the new tool. The entire premise of the vividness tool is to give users the option to punch up the saturation on their device screens, thus allowing them to make colors pop more. Ideally, this would allow people to choose how saturated their displays were and eliminate the issue of the screen being great for some but drab for others.
The tool has three settings. The lowest setting looks like the old Galaxy S24 vivid mode where there is a subtle boost to saturation that isn't overly noticeable, but still there. At its highest setting, it pumps up the colors noticeably. Fortunately, the tool is incredibly easy to use once you know where to find it.
How to access and use the Galaxy S24 vividness tool?
Make sure your S24 has no pending software updates
Folks who already know how to adjust between vivid and natural modes already know where the vividness tool is, but for people who haven't done this before, check our quick steps below.
- From the home screen, swipe down once to access the quick settings toggles.
- Tap the gear icon to access Settings.
- Tap the Display option.
- Scroll to the Screen mode option and tap it.
- Select Vivid.
- At the bottom, a new Advanced settings button will appear — Tap Advanced Settings.
- At the bottom, you'll see the vividness slider with its three options.
From there, slide the vividness slider to the three settings to see the tool in action. It may not seem like a lot, but if you set it to its highest setting and then return to the prior screen and swap between vivid and natural modes, you'll see the difference.
Does the vividness tool actually work?
Some thoughts after testing it myself
In short, yes, and quite well. Initially, there was only a subtle difference between natural and vivid mode on the Galaxy S24 series phones. The vividness slider increases this dramatically. The saturation is comparable to what was seen on the Galaxy S23 Ultra, and users who enjoy the more punchy colors should be much happier with it.
Use the photo above as a guideline. On the left, you see vivid mode with the vividness slider at maximum. The right side of the photo is natural mode. You can clearly see the higher saturation of blue in the sky, red in the house, and the yellows and oranges in the sand. Neither side looks drab, but the left kicks the colors up to 11.
Those who preferred the old vivid mode can still get that same level of saturation. The three sliders bump up the colors by varying degrees, so choose vivid mode and leave the slider on the first setting to achieve a slight bump on par with what it was like before the update. Those who choose the middle slider get more saturated colors, but not to such an aggressive extent.
Is the highest vivid mode setting better?
It comes down to personal preference
That is entirely up to subjective opinion. Some folks like deeper colors, even if it comes at the cost of realism, whereas other people enjoy the more realistic approach at the cost of saturation. It all depends on what your eyes like more. There may also be a variable in which Galaxy S24 you have, since the base S24 has a different screen than the S24 Ultra.
In artificial scenarios, like smartphone home screens, the extra color saturation looks fantastic. It's when you look at other content that things don't look so great.
However, in my experience, I personally think that maxed-out vivid mode is just a bit too punchy. It's not something I notice in the primary colors, as reds, blues, and greens look fantastic. You can see improvement in app icons like YouTube, which look much more vibrant. In artificial scenarios, like smartphone home screens, the extra color saturation looks fantastic. It's when you look at other content that things don't look so great.
When vivid mode is too vivid
Let's look at the photo above as an example, where the left side is from vivid mode and the right side is from natural mode. Older seasons of NCIS had a darker tone than you'll find in newer seasons, and every actor looked like they spent all day in a tanning booth. On the right side of the above image, you can see it in all its glory as Mark Harmon and Michael Weatherly look like they just got home from a vacation in a tropical climate. The color science back in the mid-2000s wasn't great, but it doesn't look too unnatural.
Now, look to the left side of the image. Vivid mode has completely blown out the skin tones. Both actors now look sunburned at best, and on the verge of a coronary episode at worst. They are way too red, to the point where their skin looks unnatural. It's not good. This is adjustable with Samsung's RGB sliders in vivid mode. However, without a display calibration tool and display configuration knowledge, it'd never look quite right.
I personally leave vivid mode on its lowest setting, so colors get a bit of lift without ruining some types of content. However, if the exaggerated skin tones don't bother you, then by all means, enjoy maximum vividness.
How do I get the new vividness slider?
Update your phone in Settings > Software update > Download and install
Samsung Galaxy S24 owners simply need to update to the latest firmware. Samsung released the slider with the S24's first OTA update in mid-February 2024, which should have rolled out to most regions by now. It doesn't cost anything, and you don't have to download any apps to make it work. It'll be a native part of the Settings menu from now on.
